Google Nexus 4 vs. Apple iPhone 5

After 6 years of being an Apple Fanboi, I’m finally starting the Great Migration from the Apple iPhone. After reviewing the current crop of the latest and greatest, I’ve put my coin down on the Google Nexus 4.

Why Go with the Google Nexus 4

Maps for iOS6. It was the consistently terrible map experience that cinched the deal for the Great Migration — a map was one of the top 3 reasons I purchased my first smartphone in 2001. I travel a lot to “remote” destinations (e.g., not one of the top 10 metro cities in the US). Apparently, the map database for Apple wasn’t expecting that.

Google for Domains Integration: My online life (let alone career path) centers around the tools provided by Google — Search, Email, Calendar, Tasks, Map. It only makes sense that I adopt a device that best integrates with these online services.

Price: $300 for 8GB and $350 for the 16GB with no contract (unlocked)? If but for that reason alone, the Nexus has set the charge that technical quality can be delivered at a far lower price than what the other’s have provided to date. Apple might have to dig into it’s $117B in cash reserves and $8.2B in quarterly profit.

Screen: I think I’m ready for a larger display. The iPhone 5 is still one of the smallest. The Nexus’ 4.7″ display seems like a reasonable step-up.

Battery: Watching my iPhone 5 friends constantly looking for juice is a real-life sitcom. Because the Nexus 4 doesn’t have a “4G” LTE connection, the battery will theoretically last longer.

New Features — Google Now, Knowledge Graph, Google Wallet: I don’t know what to expect with these two new smartphone features, but they sound revolutionary (and not just “we-acquired-a-company-and-called-it-Siri” revolutionary, either).

Why Stay with the iPhone

Beauty: The iPhone is a work of art, that is in my opinion of the great technical revolutions of the past decade. It will be in the MOMA, if it isn’t already.

Apps: I’m giving up access to paying for hundreds of thousands of apps, even if I only have about 10 that I ever even use. I’ll be ok, I think.

LTE: The Nexus doesn’t have the guts to support this faster “4G” data transfer speed. I may not have the fastest data speeds, but I haven’t had a problem with the speeds to date. Then again, maybe I don’t know what I’m missing…

So, the wait begins. I’ll provide a review and update in 6-7 weeks once I receive the Nexus 4 in the mail.